The best writing experience
by fpaulwilson on Feb.10, 2010, under F. Paul Wilson
I’m often asked what’s my favorite book. I don’t have one. I like many books for many reasons.
But ask me what has been the best experience of my writing career and I’ve got only one answer.
Hands down: creating and scripting FTL Newsfeed for the Sci-Fi Channel.
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February 10th, 2010 on 1:49 pm
Yes, I know it’s Syfy now, but back then it was the Sci-Fi Channel.
FTL was the first – and for a while the only – original programming on the network. It was an interstitial show, a daily one‑minute news blurb from 150 years in the future that ran at various times during the day Monday through Friday, and repeated on the weekends. In fact, an FTL was the very first piece of programming broadcast by the channel.
Let me give you a little background.
In the summer of ‘92 I got a call from a guy named Bob Siegal from USA Networks saying they were launching the Sci-Fi Channel soon and could I design a world 150 years in the future? I said sure. Then he said he needed it all done and set to go in 6 weeks. I was finishing THE SELECT at that time, trying to get it ready for the upcoming Frankfurt Book Fair, and knew I couldn’t deliver. Matt Costello and I had shot the bull a few times at various NECONs and I’d been impressed with how bright and quick and versatile he was; I’d also gathered that he had a work ethic similar to mine (which is, simply, sit down and do it). Plus he lived only an hour outside the city. (The Sci-Fi Channel was Manhattan based.) So I gave his name to Bob Siegal.
Matt called me back and asked if I was sure I didn’t want it. I reconsidered and said why don’t we split the work? We worked our butts off, meetings, conference calls, faxing, modeming, and finally e‑mailing files back and forth – this was cutting edge in 1992. We delivered (on time, I might add) a future scenario detailing the socio‑political‑economic‑technological status of the entire globe and near space for the year 2142 that, quite frankly, blew them away.
We didn’t write the actual scripts at first. A fellow named Russ Firestone adapted them from our bible. We’d lay out the story arcs in narrative and in a flow sheet that showed what was happening when and where throughout the year on a month‑by‑month and week‑by‑week basis. We’d usually hand that in during the summer, then get called sporadically throughout the year to provide fillers for the newsfeeds. But they let Russ go after two seasons and asked us if we wanted to do the whole thing. We did, and from September ‘94 onward, scripts as well as story were all ours.
That was when the fun began.
As before, Matt and I would meet a couple of times a year to map out the large story arcs. But as scripters we’d sit down every quarter we’d and break the arcs into 13-week sections, then block out the 65 individual spots (5 per week for thirteen weeks) which were taped over a four-day period every three months.
We’d sit in one or the other’s kitchen and toss quips back and forth, each taking the topic in question to the next level, until we started laughing. That was when we knew we’d gone too far, and we’d back up a step.
Matt and I were very well paid for having a lot of fun – hell, we would have done it for free. Plus, we were given carte blanche. The folks running the channel weren’t sci-fi oriented; it was a kind a mystery to them, so they let us do what we wanted. The show was surreal in a way: serious, sinister storylines peopled with goofy characters. I remember head honchos from USA Network (the parent company) coming up to us and saying, “Is this really science fiction?” We’d nod sagely. “Absolutely.” They’d walk away scratching their heads.
Not only was it hands-on experience in screenwriting – the equivalent of writing a four-hour-and-twenty-minute movie every year – but we got to work with great people. We had Gilbert Gotfried, Timothy Leary, Peter Straub, Jeffery Lyons and others doing guest spots. Rhonda Shear (remember USA’s “Up All Night” movies?) was a regular as Bimbetta Mondaine; so was Tom Monteleone as a future mafia capo. We got to work with the crazy people at Image Post who did fabulous editing. All those crawls you see on the news stations now? FTL had those to the Nth degree back in the early 90s.
In December of ‘96 we were canceled after a run of a little over 4 years. The network wanted the FTL budget for its own movies and such. We wished we’d we’d been given more warning so we could tie up some of the storylines, but all in all, no regrets.
February 11th, 2010 on 4:12 pm
Okay, maybe I do have a regret: that no one ever compiled these for DVD. It would be a massive set - 17-18 hours of video - but I’d love to have them in digital form. They had a cult following in their day and I could see a whole new following develop now.
February 11th, 2010 on 5:27 pm
Wow, I’ve never seen this show. It sounds like fun, and it’s a pity that it isn’t readily available.
Is script writing still something that appeals to you, or are satisfied with the novel format?
Speaking of script, do you imagine Repairman Jack as a cinematic character? Do you visualize a particular actor in the part?
February 12th, 2010 on 2:48 pm
I prefer the novel because it lets me steer from inside characters’ heads. Script is all surface - obviously, because film is a visual medium - and is much more collaborative. The director and the actors are all bringing something to what is eventually seen by the audience. Bad talent can wreck a great script. With a novel, it’s all on my shoulders - if you like it or loathe it, there’s only one person responsible: moi.
As for the Repairman Jack film, it’s been in development hell for almost 15 years now. At first I was very picky about who might play him; now I wouldn’t care if they chose Paul Reubens.
January 25th, 2012 on 10:50 am
nice video, thanks